On Halloween Night, Dancing With the Stars opened with a dance by pros that had the guys in dead-body shapes that moved with them on the floor—cool! I anticipated certain performances and moves by judges, so I wasn’t surprised. Some judging was accurate, and some was off target.

Terra Jolé:Cha-Cha with Sasha. Judges’ score 8. My score 8.5.

The positive: She’s SO CUTE and gets deeply into her role with darling facial expressions. She’s small, but her entertainment value is gigantic. It wasn’t a knock-your-socks-off dance, but it was cute, fun, and very well done.

A slight negative: This time, Sasha didn’t choreo dance to quite all of the music but should have.

Laurie Hernandez:V. Waltz. Judges’ score 10. My score 10.

The positive: It was elegant, lyrical, smooth, flowing, and just plain boo-tiful. Val was very emotional.

The positive: Sharp yet graceful. She made a few tiny mistakes: a tiny misstep away from her chair toward Derek in the opening and a partially incorrect connective arm movement near the end. Otherwise, it was very good.

The negative: Let go more.

Calvin Johnson:Quickstep. Judges’ score 10. My score 10.

The positive: Calvin truly has stepped into the upper league, which he began to display two weeks ago. Wow! He has such accurate technique, timing, and footwork, never missing anything and always in sync with Lindsay. Loved it! “My” Dance of the Night!

Ryan Lochte:Arg. Tango. Judges’ scores 7-8-8. My score 8.

The positive: I repeat that he’s come a long way, and he did better tonight than last week, especially in entertainment value, but his caliber in dance certainly does not compare to the quality of Marilu’s. Yet, the judges gave these competitors the same dance tonight (shock?) and scored him and Marilu exactly the same—big surprise (not).

The negative: STILL needs to be careful of his posture and to truly feel the music. He started at the bottom of the leaderboard and has stayed there; there’s a reason for that, folks, so wake up and send him home.

Jana Kramer: “Jazz.” Judges’ score 9. My score 9.5.

The positive: Jana danced alone quite a bit. Intricate series of steps/movements overall. She did splits and straddles, and they even did a cartwheel together. Very impressive all the way around!

The positive: Sharna’s knee is hurt worse than any of us had anticipated in a ligament injury that’s supposed to sideline her for 3-6 weeks, with, she says, four weeks remaining in the season. Jenna filled in excellently. I’m supposing that the girls collaborated on the choreography, which was designed and executed fabulously. Again, I say that James has it all, and he’s at the top of my list.

IMMUNITY VS. TEAM FACE-OFFS: James and Sharna/Jenna earned the top score/number of points; this gave them immunity from participation in the face-offs plus 5 points. Here are the couples who competed against one another in certain dances, and the results.

Laurie vs. Calvin: Jive Judges: Laurie Me: Calvin

Jana vs. Terra: Salsa* Judges: Jana Me: Jana

Ryan vs. Marilu: Cha-Cha Judges: Ryan Me: Marilu

*with a sideways horizontal jump by Jana and Gleb caught her!

WHO WAS ELIMINATED THIS WEEK? Ryan (deserved!) and Terra (not deserved) were in jeopardy. Ryan Lochte went home! He improved quite a bit since week 1 but truly stayed in the bottom of the group according to skill and performance quality; he overstayed his welcome and should have gone home a couple of weeks ago.

WHO SHOULD BE ELIMINATED NEXT WEEK? .This is starting to become difficult: Terra or Marilu.

Agree? Disagree? Weigh in with your comments about Dancing with the Stars!

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Writing has been an important talent and part of my life since I was a child.Professionally, after decades of employment for others, I founded Writestyle in 1996 to provide writing, editing, proofreading, training, and more to clients worldwide (www.writestyle.com).Clients often call my work “magic.”I have written and/or edited for “Coexistence Magazine” (national), for “Ohio Magazine,” and for various newspapers.In addition, I have edited or contributed to the writing of numerous books.Personally, I have written in various genres.I have always composed poetry; as such, I have won awards and publication for some of my poems, and I am compiling a book of my poetry.One of my children’s books is set for publication.With my second husband, family and friends in Ohio, I enjoy music and dance, aid charitable causes, and strive for beauty and harmony in life.

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About Me

Professionally, after decades of employment for others, Vickie Weaver founded Writestyle in 1996 to provide writing, editing, proofreading, training, and more to clients worldwide. She has written and/or edited for “Coexistence Magazine” (national), “Ohio Magazine,” and various newspapers. In addition, she has edited or contributed to the writing of numerous books. Personally, she has won awards and publication for some of her poems and is compiling a book of her poetry. She enjoys music and dance, and strives for beauty and harmony in life.